Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed asylum seeker accommodation and, in particular, a possible accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse with the Home Secretary or the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Ms Margaret Curran: The establishment of accommodation centres is a reserved matter.

Care of Elderly People

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33192 by Mr Frank McAveety on 17 January 2003, what details its joint group with COSLA on free personal care has received from East Dunbartonshire Council regarding the council's projected underspend of £357,000 in the 2002-03 allocation for the implementation of free personal care.

Mr Frank McAveety: Representatives from the Joint Group on Free Personal Care, consisting of officials from COSLA, Association of Directors of Social Work, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers and the Scottish Executive, met with officials from East Dunbartonshire Council on the 7 February 2003. The joint group were advised of a provisional projected under spend of £96,462 on the council’s overall allocation for free personal and nursing care, as at that date.

Care of Elderly People

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of older people in the (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area received intensive home care in each year since 1996.

Malcolm Chisholm: The statistics requested are available from 1998 onwards, and are contained in the table:

  Table 1: Percentage of People Aged 65 and Over Receiving Intensive Home Care

  
 Local Authority
Year  1998
1999 2000
2001 2002
 Argyll and Bute
0.94% 0.90%
1.24% 1.23%
1.46%  West 
Dunbartonshire 1.59%
1.67% 1.63%
1.72% 1.85%


  Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1.

Child Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £42 million funding for Sure Start Scotland was paid to (a) Argyll and Bute Council and (b) West Dunbartonshire Council and what the money was spent on.

Cathy Jamieson: Argyll and Bute Council received £653,000 during the first three years of the Sure Start Scotland programme. Their allocation has been spent on a range of projects including extending existing childminding provision; improving the existing daycare provision for travelling families; expanding the number of respite and activity groups; establishing parenting services, and offering outreach family support projects.

  West Dunbartonshire Council received £1,106,000 during the first three years of the Sure Start Scotland programme. Their allocation has been spent on a range of projects including expanding the number of nursery places available for children 0 to 3; increasing the number of childminders; providing mobile crèches, and providing a wide range of parenting support, including parent and toddler groups.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is examining the possibility of involving staff that are not legally qualified in the marking of any cases; if so, in what circumstances such marking would be considered; what training and experience any such staff would need, and what criteria would be used to decide which cases can be marked by such staff.

Colin Boyd QC: As part of our Departmental Improvement Plan, COPFS is investigating whether there are categories of cases which do not attract court proceedings in the first instance that might be susceptible to alternative marking approaches.

  We are at the initial exploratory stage and will carry out a thorough examination of the costs, benefits and implications for our staff, criminal justice partners and individuals affected before any decisions about changing current practices are reached.

Economy

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a task force to consider any difficulties facing the economies of Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Macduff.

Iain Gray: No. The Executive believe that the identification of local priorities for economic development and the delivery of co-ordinated economic development activities is dealt with most effectively by partnerships of local organisations and agencies. The Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Local Economic Forum provides a robust mechanism for driving forward an agreed economic agenda for the area. Scottish Enterprise Grampian, a member of the forum, will continue to follow the Smart, Successful Scotland strategy, by taking action to encourage the growth of businesses, improvements in skills and the creation of new employment opportunities. There are already in place effective arrangements for dealing with redundancy situations and in the event of job losses, support will be provided to those affected through a dedicated local response team under the Executive's Partnership Action for Continuing Employment framework. This will ensure a rapid response from local agencies in terms of offering advice, support and guidance on the wide range of retraining, upskilling and employment opportunities.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the East Dunbartonshire Council area has been designated as a (a) site of special scientific interest, (b) national scenic area, (d) local nature reserve and (e) country park.

Allan Wilson: The following proportions of the East Dunbartonshire Council area have been designated as (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest - 0.8%, (b) National Scenic Area - 0%, (c) Local Nature Reserve - 0% and (d) Country Park - 0.46%.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the East Dunbartonshire Council area is greenspace.

Allan Wilson: Greenspace is defined by Greenspace Scotland as vegetated land adjoining settlements of 3,000 people or more. On that basis, there are 1,207 hectares of greenspace in the East Dunbartonshire Council area, representing 6.9% of the total area.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measurements of transport-related pollutants have been taken in the East Dunbartonshire Council area in each year since 1992 and what progress is being made on achieving the Air Quality Strategy Objective in the area.

Allan Wilson: Information on the measurement of transport-related pollutants is not held centrally. Monitoring of air pollutants is a matter for East Dunbartonshire Council under the Environment Act 1995 which requires local authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas against the air quality objectives in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland . This has been a statutory requirement since December 1997. Review and assessment work undertaken by the council so far suggests that all the air quality objectives will be met by the required dates in the East Dunbartonshire area.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any falls in particulate-pollutant concentrations in the East Dunbartonshire Council area since 1992.

Allan Wilson: The information requested is not held centrally. Monitoring of particulate levels and other air pollutants is a matter for East Dunbartonshire Council under the Environment Act 1995 which requires local authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas against the air quality objectives in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland . This has been a statutory requirement since December 1997. Review and assessment work undertaken by the council so far suggests that the air quality objectives for particles will be met by the required dates in the East Dunbartonshire area.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any falls in nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the East Dunbartonshire Council area since 1987.

Allan Wilson: The information requested is not held centrally. Monitoring of nitrogen dioxide levels and other air pollutants is a matter for East Dunbartonshire Council under the Environment Act 1995 which requires local authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas against the air quality objectives in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland . This has been a statutory requirement since December 1997. Review and assessment work undertaken by the council so far suggests that the air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide will be met by the required dates in the East Dunbartonshire area.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any falls in carbon monoxide concentrations in the East Dunbartonshire Council area since 1987.

Allan Wilson: This information is not held centrally. Monitoring of carbon monoxide levels and other air pollutants is a matter for East Dunbartonshire Council under the Environment Act 1995 which requires local authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas against the air quality objectives in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland . This has been a statutory requirement since December 1997. Review and assessment work undertaken by the council so far suggests that the air quality objective for carbon monoxide will be met by the required date in the East Dunbartonshire area.

Executive Agencies

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what dealings it has had, or any of its agencies have had, with Workability Ltd and Business Link (Virtual Services) Ltd whose registered offices are at 9 Kitchener Street, Wishaw.

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contracted arrangements exist, or have existed, between Lanarkshire Health Executive Ltd, Workability Ltd and Business Link (Virtual Services) Ltd and any executive agency.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Public Pensions Agency has a contract with Workability Ltd for the provision of medical advice, primarily recommendations as to whether early retirement should be granted on medical grounds under the Scottish Teachers Superannuation Scheme and the NHS Pension Scheme in Scotland. It has no contract with Business Link (Virtual Services) Ltd which is a supplier of administrative services to Workability.

  The contract was placed in 1997 with Workability under its previous name, Lanarkshire Health Executive. The contract expires in 2004 and is shortly to be re-tendered.

Executive Agencies

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what declarations of interest have been made by employees of, or advisers to, the Scottish Public Pensions Agency with regard to their directorship of any companies undertaking contracted work for the agency in the field of health assessments or any other area of work.

Mr Andy Kerr: None. Except in so far as the directors and employees of Workability Ltd provide medical advice to the Scottish Public Pension Agency under its contract with them.

Ferry Services

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31518 by Ross Finnie on 25 November 2002, whether it has now had any further discussions with Superfast Ferries regarding implementation of the pet passport scheme on the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry route.

Ross Finnie: Superfast Ferries sent the first draft of their methods of operation for the carriage of pet dogs and cats to my officials on 17 January 2003. This is being considered and my officials will give the company any comments shortly.

Fire Service

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of industrial action by fire service personnel has been to date and from which budget this cost has been met.

Hugh Henry: Provision was made in the Spring Revision to the Budget Bill laid before Parliament on 30 January for £18.5 million. This is the estimated cost of providing emergency cover for the fire dispute based on this being necessary to the end of the financial year. Provision has been found by re-profiling budgets across the Executive.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the cost of regulation for the aquaculture industry.

Allan Wilson: The Executive's review of aquaculture regulation resulted in proposals to streamline the consenting process and reduce duplication of effort. In implementing the Strategic Framework, the Executive will be pursuing a number of regulatory lightening initiatives.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support businesses that provide support services to the fishing industry.

Ross Finnie: The Enterprise companies have a number of programmes in place to support businesses. These can include business advice, training and certain types of financial assistance.

General Practitioners

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has carried out with rural GPs regarding any proposed withdrawal of the Chapter 10.5 payments scheme for GP practices in rural areas with low list sizes.

Malcolm Chisholm: Future funding arrangements for GP practices in rural and urban areas are currently being considered as part of the on-going negotiations over a new contract for GPs. Negotiations are being taken forward on a UK basis by the NHS Confederation, representing the four UK Health Departments, and the UK General Practitioners Committee (GPC). As negotiations are currently on-going it would be inappropriate for me to provide details of what is being discussed at this stage. Any agreed proposals for a new contract arising from these talks will be subject to consultation with all GPs.

General Practitioners

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will introduce to safeguard GP practices in rural areas on the introduction of the new GP contracts.

Malcolm Chisholm: Negotiations on a new GP contract are on-going and at this stage it would be inappropriate for me to comment in detail on what measures might be introduced to safeguard GP practices in rural areas. However, the framework document for the new contract published in April 2002 recognises that special remote and rural arrangements are likely to be needed.

Housing

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many new homes have been sold by building companies to individuals in the East Dunbartonshire Council area in each year since 1991.

Ms Margaret Curran: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Information is available on the number of private sector housing completions in the East Dunbartonshire Council area in each year since 1991 as shown in the following table.

  Private sector sales figures can be obtained from Registers of Scotland.

  New Private Sector Dwellings Completed in East Dunbartonshire: 1991-2001

  
 Period
Number of Dwellings Completed 
1991 421 
1992 162 
1993 479 
1994 562 
1995 471 
1996 234 
1997 187 
1998 312 
1999 141 
2000 192 
2001 77

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to give final approval to the transfer of Glasgow City Council’s housing stock to Glasgow Housing Association Ltd.

Ms Margaret Curran: The First Minister is expected to be in a position to make a decision within a matter of weeks.

Landfill

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it keeps a record of new landfill sites for which planning permission has been granted.

Des McNulty: No. The information requested is not held centrally.

Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will transfer all cases relating to agricultural holdings disputes within the jurisdiction of the sheriff courts to the Scottish Land Court and, in particular, whether it will transfer jurisdiction of such matters in relation to section 1 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940.

Ross Finnie: Sections 59 and 62 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill provide that the Scottish Land Court shall have jurisdiction for all disputes between a tenant and a landlord relating to an agricultural holding that arise in future. The Land Court will be able to exercise the powers of enforcement that are available under section 1 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940 in relation to all decrees that it issues.

Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many orders were (a) sought and (b) granted under (i) section 1(1) and (ii) section 1(2) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940 and how many such orders related to disputes regarding agricultural holdings in each case in each year since the act came into force.

Ross Finnie: The number of applications for civil imprisonment relating to decrees ad factum praestandum in the years 1979 to 2001 were as follows:

  
 Year Number 
of Applications  1979
2  1980
10  1981
5  1982
3  1983
14  1984
8  1985
8  1986
9  1987
6  1988
15  1989
0  1990
59  1991
14  1992
15  1993
7  1994
5  1995
1  1996
0  1997
4  1998
8  1999
0  2000
0  2001
2 

  Source: Civil Judicial Statistics.

  The figures in the table cover all applications based on decrees ad factum praestandum. We do not know how many of these applications relate to disputes regarding agricultural holdings.

  No figures are available in relation to the following:

  (a) the number of applications for civil imprisonment based on decrees ad factum praestandum prior to 1979, and

  (b) how many of the applications were granted, either as a warrant for civil imprisonment under section 1(1) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940 or as another order in lieu of imprisonment by virtue of section 1(2) of that act.

Local Government Finance

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds were allocated, and on what dates, to the East Dunbartonshire Council area through (a) the National Childcare Strategy, (b) Sure Start Scotland, (c) New Community Schools, (d) New Housing Partnerships, (e) the Early Intervention programme, (f) tackling health inequalities, (g) study support and out of school hours learning activities, (h) the Alternatives to Exclusion grant scheme, (i) social inclusion partnerships (SIPs), (j) the Working for Communities programme, (k) the Listening to Communities programme, (l) the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund (BNSF), (m) Scottish Homes and (n) Communities Scotland.

Peter Peacock: The following table gives details of the allocations received by East Dunbartonshire Council. Payments were profiled in each year to reflect the council’s spending requirement. The council does not receive funds through the following programmes: SIPs, Working for Communities, Listening to Communities or BNSF.

  Health inequalities are being tackled through an extensive range of social, economic and health programmes. Consequently, there is no single health inequalities funding programme for which figures can be given.

   
 

East Dunbartonshire 1999-2000(£ 
million) 2000-01(£ 
million) 2001-02(£ 
million) 2002-03(£ 
million) 2003-04(£ 
million) 2004-05(£ 
million) 2005-06(£ 
million)  (a)
Childcare Strategy  0.113
0.188 0.188
0.213 0.247
0.440 0.601
 (b) Sure 
Start  0.123
0.179 0.244
0.244 0.297
0.463 0.661
 (c) New 
Community Schools 0.200
0.200 0.400
0.495 0.495
0.442 0.590
 (d) New 
Housing Partnerships 0.172
0.380 0.404
0.792 *
* *
 (e) Early 
Intervention** 0.307
0.309 0.307
0.307 0.307
0.307 0.307
 (g) Study 
Support and Out of Schools Learning 0.191
0.273 0.273
0.277 0.277
0.332 0.332
 (h) Alternatives 
to Exclusion 0.128
0.206 0.257
0.259 0.285
0.285 0.285
 (m/n)
Scottish Homes/Communities Scotland 1.750
2.095 0.680
0.330 *
* *


  Notes:

  * Allocations for 2003-04 and beyond have still to be confirmed.

  ** Early intervention resources are paid as part of unhypothecated revenue grant from 2003-04.

Local Government Finance

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what gross capital payments have been (a) proposed for and (b) made to East Dunbartonshire Council under the local government settlement in each year since 1996.

Mr Andy Kerr: In each year since 1996, East Dunbartonshire Council has been issued capital consents for non-housing capital expenditure from borrowing and grants as follows:

  
 Year
£ million 
1996-97 6.7
 1997-98
5.6  1998-99
10.4  1999-2000
4.8  2000-01
5.6  2001-02
12.1  2002-03
11 

  Outwith the local government settlement, East Dunbartonshire receives an allocation of around £2.4 million each year for housing capital expenditure.

Ministerial Cars

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8566 by Mr Jack McConnell on 22 August 2000, how much money has been spent on fuel for ministerial cars in each year since 2000-01.

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the full costs, including fuel, drivers’ salaries, insurance, road tax and servicing, of providing the ministerial car service for ministerial use and how many cars there were in the pool in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: Expenditure on fuel, service and repairs, staff costs, contract hire and the number of vehicles used by the Government Car Service (Scotland) (GCS) since 1997 is shown in the table:

  
 Year Fuel 
Cost (£) Service/Repairs (£)
Staff Costs (£)1
Private Contract Hire5
Number of Cars  1997-98
16,417 2
2 2
8  1998-99
24,033 25,871
233,444 51,051
8  1999-2000
34,832 12,775
235,000 106,000
11  2000-01
25,776 13,757
233,402 259,454
143  2001-02
39,026 26,470
413,768 110,148
223  2002-03
46,7374 27,0004
416,8654 123,0004
223 

  Notes:

  1. Staff costs include ASLC and ERNIC.

  2. Comparable figures are not available.

  3. Includes one people-carrier.

  4. Estimate for the full year based on part-year figures.

  5. When demand exceeds capacity, private hire cars are engaged.

  The Government Car Service (Scotland) provides or arranges transport for Scottish ministers, ministers of UK Government Departments when in Scotland, senior officials at the Scottish Executive, and visiting dignitaries.

  All vehicles owned by the Scottish Executive have Crown exemption from road tax.

  Vehicle insurance policies are not taken out by the public sector.

Ministerial Visits

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the First Minister to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the Deputy Minister for Justice to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the Minister for Health and Community Care to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by each Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for the environment and rural development to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for the environment and rural development to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for education and young people to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for education and young people to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for finance and public services to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for finance and public services to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for enterprise, transport and lifelong learning to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for enterprise, transport and lifelong learning to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for social justice to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for social justice to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for tourism, culture and sport to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for tourism, culture and sport to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the minister with responsibility for parliamentary business to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by the deputy minister with responsibility for parliamentary business to each parliamentary constituency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Patricia Ferguson: Individual ministerial private offices make every effort to notify constituency MSPs, Regional MSPs and MPs when official visits take place. The information requested is not held centrally.

Non-Domestic Rates

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated gross loss of revenue will be of the reduction in rate poundage for businesses with a rateable value less than £10,000 under the Small Business Rates Relief Scheme in the financial year 2003-04.

Mr Andy Kerr: There will be no loss of revenue. The additional cost of £19.4 million will be met through a small supplement (0.6 pence or 1.3%) on the poundage for properties with a rateable value above £25,000.

Non-Domestic Rates

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated gross increase in revenue will be of the increase in rate poundage for businesses with a rateable value greater than £25,000 under the Small Business Rates Relief Scheme in 2003-04.

Mr Andy Kerr: There will be no increase in revenue.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-33792 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search..

Planning

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) householder and (b) non-householder planning applications have been made to East Dunbartonshire Council in each year since 1999 and what percentage of each category of applications were dealt with by the council within two months of the application being lodged.

Des McNulty: The following table shows the number of planning applications dealt with by East Dunbartonshire Council in the financial years 1999-2002. The category non-householder includes other planning consents, such as hazardous substances and listed building consents, as well as planning permissions.

  

 

1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02 
No. of Applications
% Within 2 Months
No. of Applications
% Within 2 Months
No. of Applications
% Within 2 Months 
Householder 550
62.2 619
79.3 720
84.3  Non-Householder
214 17.3
192 39.1
191 47.1

Planning

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that all local authorities meet the national target of dealing with 80% of all planning applications within two months.

Des McNulty: Ministers attach considerable importance to the performance of planning authorities in processing planning applications and are keen to see performance match the Executive’s targets in this regard. To that end, the Executive carries out a rolling programme of planning audits of the development control and development planning procedures of planning authorities. The audits aim to identify strengths and weaknesses in the procedures of each planning authority, promote good practice and help authorities improve upon their levels of performance. An annual audit report is published containing statistics on performance with a short commentary, and is available on the internet ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/Planning/audit.aspx ).

Planning

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why agricultural planning application charges are, for applications in respect of areas of less than 465 square meters, a flat rate of £42 and, for applications in respect of larger areas, £220 for the first 465 square metres and a further £220 for every additional 75 square metres.

Des McNulty: The introduction of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)(Scotland) Order 1992 in March 1992 removed permitted development rights from agricultural buildings in excess of 465 square metres or 12 metres in height. It was considered that the larger structures should be subject to planning control in order to ensure that their effect on the landscape, particularly the sensitivity of build and location, could be taken fully into account in the deliberation process. While no planning fee is charged on agricultural buildings not exceeding 465 square metres the developer must apply to the authority for prior approval which currently costs £42.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff were sent from other Scottish Prison Service establishments to HM Prison Kilmarnock to deal with the concerted indiscipline that occurred there on or between 29 and 31 January 2003.

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what cover was available at those Scottish Prison Service establishments from which staff were sent to HM Prison Kilmarnock to deal with the concerted indiscipline that occurred there on or between 29 and 31 January 2003

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of sending staff from other Scottish Prison Service establishments to HM Prison Kilmarnock to deal with the concerted indiscipline that occurred there on or between 29 and 31 January 2003.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  None.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether assistance was requested from any other service by the Scottish Prison Service to deal with the concerted indiscipline at HM Prison Kilmarnock that occurred on or between 29 and 31 January 2003.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Prison Kilmarnock has sent any staff to deal with the concerted indiscipline at other Scottish Prison Service establishments and, if so, on what dates and how many staff were sent on each occasion.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Staff from HM Prison Kilmarnock are available to assist in the management of major incidents in any Scottish prison, under mutual aid arrangements between the SPS and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd. This assistance has been provided. The SPS Incident Command policy is not to identify how many or which staff of any named prison had been deployed on any particular incident, so as not to release information inadvertently which might be used by prisoners in a future incident. The SPS would be pleased to arrange a detailed briefing for Mr Matheson on Incident Command arrangements.

Renewable Energy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage the harnessing of energy from wave and tidal current resources.

Ross Finnie: We are fully committed to the development of emerging marine technologies. We are working in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Carbon Trust, Orkney Islands Council, Scottish Enterprise and the DTI to establish a European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. The centre, which will open during 2003, will represent a unique testing facility for marine power technology. It will allow companies to design, develop and manufacture devices, and will promote a cluster of high value technology based companies in Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire in the East Dunbartonshire Council area in each year since 1996, broken down by the total amount of funds spent and the amount spent per head of population.

Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29718 by Mr Jim Wallace on 23 October 2002, when decisions on future spending on external affairs will be finalised and how it will inform the Parliament of any such decisions.

Mr Jim Wallace: Details of the Scottish Executive's spending plans for 2003-06 were set out in the draft Budget 2003-04 document published on 31 October.

  The budget for External Relations initiatives in 2002-03 was increased from £100,000 to £300,000. The annual budget for 2003-04 is to be £300,000 but for the initial budget documents for 2003-04 the baseline was simply rolled forward and additional resources are to be transferred in the course of the year subject to parliamentary approval of the appropriate budget revision. Ministers intend to make similar revisions for the two forward years.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were of printing, publishing and distributing Building Our Future: Scotland’s School Estate .

Cathy Jamieson: The costs of printing and publishing have amounted to £17,600, with a further £100 for distribution.

Scottish Executive Publications

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the summary document of Recording Our Achievements were produced and what the (a) production and (b) distribution costs were.

Mr Andy Kerr: In total, 93,000 copies of Recording our Achievements : A Summary were produced for distribution at a cost of £15,747. Of the 93,000 copies, 1,711 were distributed with the main Recording our Achievements document; therefore, the costs for distributing the summary documents cannot be separately identified.

  The total cost of distributing the main and summary documents was £15,888.68.

Scottish Executive Publications

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the summary document of Recording Our Achievements was distributed as an insert with a newspaper or periodical and, if so, in which newspapers or periodicals, on which dates and what the cost was of each such distribution.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to my response to S1W-33748 on 12 February 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search ..

Scottish Executive Publications

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs have been of producing, publishing, launching and distributing each of its publications produced to date.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available in the format asked for and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Sport

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31383 by Dr Elaine Murray on 18 November 2002, how much additional money has been allocated to school sport in the (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1998-99.

Dr Elaine Murray: Through the School Sports Co-ordinator Programme, school sport in the Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire local authority areas has benefited since 1998-99 by £43,145 and £139,870 respectively as outlined in the following table. West Dunbartonshire Council applied to the programme on behalf of all schools in its area whereas Argyll and Bute Council decided to leave it to individual schools to decide whether to apply to the programme for funding. Neither local authority is involved in the Active Primary School Programme or the TOP Programme.

  The Executive’s aim is to increase participation in sport at all age levels and in particular instil healthy positive attitudes in our children and young people towards sport and physical activity in all parts of Scotland. To assist that objective the Executive has allocated significant additional resources to school sport in particular in its most recent budget. Sportscotland will work with all education authorities including Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire in developing these programmes further.

  
 Year Argyll 
and Bute West Dunbartonshire
 1998-99
£0 £0
 1999-2000
£1,945 £0
 2000-01
£10,440 £92,830
 2001-02
£7,340 £0
 2002-03
£23,420 £47,040
  £43,145
£139,870

Waste Management

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of household waste in (a) Scotland, (b) the East Renfrewshire Council area and (c) the East Dunbartonshire Council area is (i) disposed of by landfill, (ii) recycled, (iii) composted and (iv) incinerated.

Ross Finnie: The information requested for the two councils is available for 2001-02 on the Accounts Commission website,

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/compendium/councils.htm

  Summation of the data from that source shows that overall Scotland landfilled 89.6%, recycled 8% (including 2.3% composted and 0.4% ash from incineration which is recycled) and incinerated 2.4% of household waste in 2001-02. Unreliable information from one council (Dumfries and Galloway) has been excluded from the Scotland figures.